Former Prosecutor to Become NJ Attorney General

The New Jersey Senate has confirmed Jeff Chiesa as the state's next attorney general.

Gov. Chris Christie's pick was approved in a 37-0 vote late Monday night.

The 46-year-old Chiesa had been the governor's chief counsel.

The Branchburg resident previously worked with Christie in the U.S. Attorney's office.

The quick confirmation was unusual for a Christie nominee.

The Republican governor has repeatedly clashed with the Democrat-controlled Senate over nominations. His pick for education commissioner has been stalled for a year, and it took a year for his first Supreme Court pick to be approved.

An ongoing stalemate over judicial nominees also has forced the postponement of some Essex County trials.

Chiesa succeeds Paula Dow, who has been nominated to become a Superior Court judge in Essex.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)